Sorry for the length of this answer, but it was a thoughtful question and deserves a thoughtful answer.
#1 and #2: true enough.
#3: Investments in real estate are RARELY gambles. 99% of the time, a home APPRECIATES in value, even when the neighborhood doesn't. Generally speaking, this is one of the safest and most 'sure' investments you can make. The neighborhood is only part of the reason for buying a home--there are other factors that may out balance a bad or downhill neighborhood--and the neighborhood is always improved when responsible and caring homeowners move IN. When house prices go lower, it's a magnet for those who want to flip houses--or buy them for rental units, or buy them cheaply for the future when they can be sold at a higher value. Also, taxes are usually lower in these neighborhoods. That's another attraction of buying in a depressed area or down-hill neighborhood--not only are you getting your property cheaper, you are getting a break on taxes--and oftentimes communities have grants and incentives for buying there so the neighborhood can be reclaimed or rehabbed. So as an investment, it's another way to say that you can buy low and sell high.
#4: it takes almost no time at all to build up enough equity in a home. It definitely doesn't take "paying down the interest"--or waiting 'many years.' Equity is not only what you are paying on your mortgage, it's the improvements you make to the property while you live there. You may find you have equity simply because you put in new plumbing or electrical wiring, or a new septic system.
Overall, you're correct that a house costs you more to live in--with apartments, you don't normally have to pay maintenance and sometimes you only pay one utility or two--and with a house you are paying everything. Water, sewer, trash pickup, gas, electric, cable, etc. BUT--you also have control over these things. And if your monthly mortgage payment is significantly less than renting where you get those things paid for, it can actually be MORE cost-effective to live in a house. You might be paying $1500 a month to live in a decently-sized apartment, where you may only be paying a total of $800, with mortgage AND utilities, to live in a house which is larger and more private.
And that's another thing: With a house, you have autonomy AND privacy. No one will be banging on your ceiling or walls when you're noisy--no one will care if you have a gas grill that gets smoky--no one will charge you extra for your pets or garage. No one will be spying on you from the balcony next door, or leaving trash in your hallways, or mucking up the laundry facilities--unless you do.
Houses that are well-cared for sell quickly. And the seller almost always makes money on that sale--even if they haven't lived there very long.
The biggest draw for apartment living is the mobility, not the value. In an apartment, your world is limited to the dimensions of the apartment--you own nothing else and control nothing else. But you CAN, as you say, pack up and leave quickly. And when you live in a large urban area, a house may not even be available for you to buy. People build and live vertically in cities--and horizontally in suburbs. You're also far less likely to have things like bed bugs, roaches or rats in a house than you are in a city apartment. You're less likely to have to smell your neighbors' cooking, hear their arguments, or deal with their messes. Sure--trees rarely fall on your roof, but you're going to be paying extra for parking your car. Sure, you can visit a deli at 3 AM, but you can't plant a garden either.
There are trade-offs and advantages and DISadvantages to both ways of living.